Hogeschool Utrecht

Hogeschool Utrecht

A Tech-minded Future– As the first Dutch university, Hogeschool Utrecht started recruiting new technical students by using influencer marketing. To find tomorrow’s innovators you need to use the innovation of today. We identified & matched renowned Dutch YouTubers Dylan Haegens, Sophie Milzink and Défano Holwijn who connect well with Hogeschool Utrecht’s target audience (13-18 year old students). They inspired their own audiences with their view on the future & technology. Interested fans were matched with relevant study programs and received an invitation for the university’s Open Day.

Approach

3sixtyfive started their preparations for this project in the spring of 2016 by identifying and matching the right influencers, a challenging task. Not every influencer is capable of inspiring their audience about a future that is very technology-minded. Dylan Haegens, Sophie Milzink and Défano Holwijn will each use their unique formats to make future students enthusiastic for technique. We asked the YouTubers to create a video to inspire their audience by showing their own vision of a tech-minded future. Dylan Haegens made a TOP-10 which contains 10 hilarious sketches from the future. Sophie Milzink did her own research by asking HU students who are already busy creating ‘our future’ everything about technology. And Défano Holwijn went out on the streets to check the tech knowledge of the people in Utrecht. The influencers published their videos on YouTube along with an activation for their audience to win tickets for the ‘Explore your Future’ events in October & November.

Effect

With #exploreyourfuture we reached a large audience and informed them about a tech-minded future. We achieved over 1.000.000 views (and counting) of the content. During the Open Days (8 October and 5 November) we organized an exclusive session where the YouTubers participated in a panel discussion about the future of technology, together with experts Jesse van Doren (the Internet of Things) and Sander Duivestein (A.I. & robots) and students of the HU (solar power and more).